A rugby referee is the most watched, listened to, and continuously criticised man on the field at any given time. Thirty guys, all much bigger normally, hang onto his every move in anticipation of what game changing decision is coming next.

Not only do the men with the whistles have to deal with players moaning, coaches nitpicking, the media tearing them to pieces, and the reality of the job being at risk if they have an off day, but they also have to be extremely fit and get around the ground with the same speed as a top player who needs to be at every ruck.

We sometimes under-estimate how fit these ref's actually are, and that they have to go through stringent testing to get to the top level, and if they're not fit enough, they won't make it.

But as you can see here in this great little compilation video that was apparently thrown together by someone at the IRB, sometimes getting to the ruck and staying up with the action can be a little bit on the hazardous side. Perhaps it's safer for those old overweight ref's you at times see on school grounds. The ones who are never up with play and therefore stay out the danger zone, staying away from the contact situation up front.

Besides the bad collisions, notable funny clips here are Steve Walsh catching the ball in a test match, and Paddy O'Brien blowing the whistle from on the floor.

Enjoy, and the next time you play, spare a thought for the little guy out there who's doing his best to blow a good game, while at the same time avoid becoming a prop sandwich.

Yeah there was also James Leckie getting a virtual knockout swinging arm from Craig Newby a couple of weeks ago, but hey, whatever isn't in this one can go in future compilations I guess. Funny video. Been wanting to see that Steve Walsh catch again for a while now! Love the look on his face! lol

i forgot to say.....great to see refs laughing in those situations.. i am still laughing to the ref at 0:50 - he was on the other side and suddenly decides to tackle a player trying to kick the ball - LOL.....

Nice vid, good ref's often go unnoticed purely because they are able to keep such a fluid game going.It's sometimes tough to remember that they are some of the biggest fans of the game themselves.Cheers RD, again. . .

great to see those refs who didn't get hurt laughing it off, part of why i love this game is the brilliant attitude of those involved, the look on the face of the ref blowing the whistle on the floor is priceless.also the england prop bouncing off the ref is comedy gold.

The Pumas (Argentina if you don't know) were beating Wales 29 to 6? They were beating South Africa? Either the Pumas were in a very good moment or South Africa in a very bad one. And I just loved when the ref in 0:40 ask for a replacement

I agree Shane. Not only did he deliberately push the ref into the tackle but he grabbed the guy's head and held him in there. Must've had a grudge. All in the hurly-burly of the game I guess but lucky not to have attracted a bit of official attention.